Subject: [Tweeters] Nice yard bird today
Date: Apr 1 18:32:29 2015
From: Joshua Glant - josh.n.glant at gmail.com


Hello Tweets,

I had a nice Fork-tailed Flycatcher in my yard today, hawking insects from the top of our Western Cedar. Gorgeous bird, with sleek tail streamers and pristine notched primaries, indicating the expected, nominate "savana" subspecies.

Just kidding!

Seriously, though, I had a nice yard bird. Nothing quite on the level of such spectacular birds as a Brambling or a male Black-throated Blue Warbler (gorgeous photos taken by everyone, by the way), but still a special one for me.

All winter, I've been on the lookout, scanning all my Oregon Dark-eyed Juncos for that special darker individual. And today was the day! I spotted the male Slate-colored Junco as he foraged under our rose bush. He scurried over the paved gravel walkway to grab a seed or two beneath the feeder, hopped up on a branch in our feeder tree, and then wandered off into the shade and disappeared into the ravine.

He really is a beautiful bird. His color was a very handsome blue-gray, a perfect definition of "slate blue"; his face was darker than the rest, almost like a mask. On his back were a few streaks of darker blue-gray, similar to the effect of the dorsal stripes on a Townsend's Warbler or fall Blackburnian. He's also quite a rotund little bird!

Funny thing is, I've both been planning a Slate-colored Junco message and a "real rarity on April Fools" message all week! I must be psychic, right?

I got good photos and video, and my parents both got to see it! It feels good to share a good bird sighting.

Good, good, good birding, Joshua Glant

Mercer Island, WA

Josh.n.glant at gmail.com